Red Lantern Birthday
by Lady Lotus Moon
Summary: Gojyo visits the red lantern district to celebrate his birthday, and drags Hakkai along with him.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Red Lantern Birthday

Author: Lotus

Pairing(s): Hakkai/Gojyo/Other(s)

Rating: NC17

Summary: Gojyo visits the red lantern district to celebrate his birthday, and drags Hakkai along with him.

Warning: Language, Sexual Situations, Yaoi, Het, Bondage, Threesome (whaddya expect with Gojyo in a brothel?)

Notes: This takes place the first year the Sanzo ikkou are on the road heading West. Also, a brief explanation regarding Asian birthdays... In historic Japan, individual birthdays were not celebrated, but rather an individual's age went up every New Year's (this is why in most Asian astrology charts, the birth month isn't even considered, only the year). The Western system of celebrating individual birthdays wasn't adopted until the Japanese government passed a law in 1950.

Disclaimer: Kazuya Minekura's beautiful boys. If they were mine, there'd be more stops at onsens, secluded woodland bathing pools, shower scenes and overall general nudity. And fewer female wait staff.

Humming happily, Gojyo rubbed the scented oil into his palms and ran his fingers through his hair. Shaking the shiny tresses back over his shoulders, he gave himself a last once-over in the mirror. Straight-legged black leather pants tucked into freshly polished boots, and his favorite black silk shirt. Wait. He undid another button to reveal more of his chest. Oh, yeah. All the fighting on this little road trip had definitely added some definition.

Gojyo started to turn away, then at the last minute decided to tuck half of the front of his shirt in. Giving his image a wink, he sauntered out of the room to fetch Hakkai. He smirked as he stepped out into the hallway. Even though Hakkai had promised to go out tonight to celebrate Gojyo's birthday, the healer didn't know exactly where they were going. The very thought made his cock twitch in anticipation, and Gojyo shifted the clinging leather, automatically patting the pocket with the roll of yen. The rest of it was tucked into his boot. A whole month's worth of card winnings.

Gojyo opened the door to the monk's room where the rest of the ikkou had gathered.

"Yo," he announced himself.

With a sharp snap, Sanzo raised the newspaper he was reading, blocking his face. Goku bounced off the bed with a grin.

"Yay! Now we can play Maj- hey," his upturned nose crinkled. "Why do you smell like that?"

"Sorry, monkey," Gojyo reached out and ruffled the hair above the diadem. "Hakkai and I are going out."

Goku turned a mournful face to Hakkai for confirmation. The brunette straightened from where he was folding laundry on the empty bed. He gave Gojyo a smile.

"That's right, Goku," Hakkai patted the crestfallen monkey's shoulder. "We are honoring the anniversary of Gojyo's birthday."

"Huh?" Goku frowned.

"Che." A crinkle, and a corner of the paper folded down revealing a baleful bespectacled stare. "As if you even know the day you born."

Gojyo lifted his chin. The truth was, he actually didn't know when he was born. He had just picked today because he had the cash saved up and they were in a decent enough sized town to have a brothel. But, that wasn't the point.

"It was today, um, twenty-two years ago," Gojyo answered with a confident grin that would have ended the conversation with most people.

"What's today's date?" Sanzo the prick persisted.

"Er.." floundering, Gojyo glanced at Hakkai for some backup. The healer subtly splayed his hands on his thighs, folding back one thumb.

"The ninth!" he announced triumphantly. Sanzo was unimpressed.

"And the month?" Sanzo asked flatly. Fucker.

"It's Autumn, okay?" Gojyo finally answered, exasperated.

"So," Sanzo responded, in a tone as dry as his paper, "you were born on the ninth of Autumn?"

"Hey, Sanzo," Goku interrupted. "What day was I born?"

"I don't know," Sanzo answered. "It doesn't matter."

"Aw," Goku pouted. "But I wanna celebrate my birthday, too."

"Shut up," Sanzo muttered, flicking the corner of the paper upright again.

Released from the holy inquisition, Gojyo looked Hakkai up and down. The healer was wearing his usual tan trousers and a green shirt buttoned all the way up, tucked in tight as his legendary bed corners. And a belt. A belt, for fuck's sake. He couldn't be more... contained. Hakkai stood calmly under Gojyo's scrutiny, then finally pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Is something amiss, Gojyo?" Hakkai asked politely.

"You gotta change," Gojyo said bluntly.

Hakkai glanced down at himself, then back up, eyebrows raised in question.

"I believe I am suitably attired for an evening out," Hakkai said.

"Yeah, at a library," Gojyo rolled his eyes. He was going to have to tell Hakkai, or he'd never get him to change. "But not for a brothel."

The sound of tearing paper drew Gojyo's attention back to a pair of glaring purple eyes.

"What's a brothel?" Goku piped up.

"Don't. Answer. That," Sanzo gritted out.

"Ah, ha ha," Hakkai held out his hands. "I think we'll be going now."

"Wait!" Goku grabbed Gojyo's arm. "Is it a place that serves broth? I wanna go!"

"Well," Gojyo drawled, watching the priest out of the corner of his eye, "not broth, but I can usually get panty soup."

Hakkai made a choking sound and the banishing gun appeared out of a robe sleeve.

"Ew, that sounds gross," Goku stuck out his tongue. "Almost as bad as that ass soup Hakkai made us eat."

"It was ox-tail soup, Goku," Hakkai corrected, shoving Gojyo toward the door. "And the foreigner recommended it," he added a bit defensively.

The sound of a gun cocking preempted further conversation. Gojyo beat a hasty retreat into the hall, dragging Hakkai with him. He fell back laughing against the closed door.

"Honestly, Gojyo," Hakkai admonished, "I think you provoke Sanzo on purpose."

"Maybe just a little," Gojyo grinned and guided Hakkai by the elbow to his room.

"Aren't we leaving?" Hakkai shot him a puzzled look as Gojyo shut the door.

"Like I said, you gotta change first." Gojyo squatted to open his duffel bag. He was a little taller than the brunette, but his clothes should still fit okay.

"Gojyo," Hakkai's voice sounded a bit strained. "Surely you aren't seriously considering going to a brothel?"

"Yep. Hey, this should work." Gojyo pulled out a pair of brown leather pants. He tossed them to Hakkai, who caught them against his chest.

"Put those on," Gojyo instructed.

"These trousers are leather," Hakkai's expression was slightly bemused. Gojyo would have laughed if he had a lesser sense of self-preservation.

"Yeah, I know." Gojyo sighed and walked over to the healer. "Didn't you say we could celebrate my birthday however I wanted as long as it didn't involve Sanzo bailing us out of jail?" he prompted.

Hakkai nodded slowly, and Gojyo could see second thoughts in the green eyes. It was probably going to be a while before he could weasel such an open-ended promise out of the healer again.

"So...?" Gojyo waved his hand in the air.

With a nearly imperceptible sigh, Hakkai sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes. Somewhat surprised by the relatively easy victory, Gojyo leaned against the wall as Hakkai efficiently took off his belt and pants, folded them on the bed, and slipped on the brown leather. When the brunette promptly began tucking in the shirt, Gojyo pushed away from the wall.

"Hang on," Gojyo intervened.

Hakkai paused with his hands in the back of his pants, fly open, and gave Gojyo another skeptical look. Gojyo snickered and knelt in front of the brunette.

"Don't tuck the shirt in," Gojyo said, pulling the back out of Hakkai's hands. "It makes you look too uptight."

Gojyo started buttoning up the fly, and felt a light touch on the top of his head, which he ignored.

"Gojyo, I am more than capable of dressing myself," Hakkai said

"Mm-hm," Gojyo finished the buttons and tugged the hem of the shirt down. Still not really working. He couldn't tuck in half of the front like his shirt, because Hakkai's tunic didn't have a tail. He started unbuttoning the bottom of the shirt.

"Is it necessary for me to change shirts as well?" Hakkai was starting to sound a bit exasperated.

"Nah," Gojyo tilted his head back to flash a grin up at his friend. "The package just needs a bit of framing."

"Package?" Hakkai frowned down at him.

Holding his breath, Gojyo reached out and lightly grasped Hakkai's cock through the leather.

"Gojyo!" Hakkai gasped, and the hand went from the top of his head to grip his shoulder.

"Just adjusting," Gojyo replied calmly. "You know, the classic decision. Right, left, up the middle..."

Gojyo squeezed a little more firmly and stroked up the shaft as he lined Hakkai's cock with the seam. He let his breath out in relief as he felt Hakkai harden under his hand. He had been a little worried that his friend wouldn't be up for tonight's outing. He'd never given Hakkai's sex life much more than a passing thought; a man's business was his own. However, that changed one night two months ago.

The ikkou was camping out, and Hakkai had excused himself to fetch water. When the healer was gone a little too long for comfort, Gojyo had gone into the trees after him. Close to the river, he heard strange sounds, and slowed down, moving with stealthy caution. What he found had both disturbed and torn his heart.

Hakkai was leaning against a tree, the front of his pants open, obviously jerking off. The healer had his face buried in the crook of his left arm, and the strange sound was muffled sobbing. Turning his back, Gojyo squatted in the brush to give his friend his privacy, but unwilling to leave him so vulnerable. He waited until the sobbing stopped and he heard the crunch of Hakkai's footsteps as the brunette continued on toward the river. After the footsteps faded away, Gojyo stood up and sauntered back to camp. When Hakkai returned, he had obviously cleaned up at the river since he didn't smell like sex, and he wore his usual fake smile as he prepared dinner.

That was the night Gojyo decided he was gonna get his friend laid.

"There," Gojyo lightly slapped Hakkai's hip as he rose to his feet. "All ready."

Slinging an arm around the shoulders of his flushed friend, Gojyo steered them out of the room. He would do everything in his power to make tonight an experience Hakkai would never forget.

__________________________

One right turn after the main open market, and the string of dancing red lanterns came into view. A bamboo fence separated the pleasure district from the rest of the town, with an officially guarded gate to collect tolls. Although, Gojyo was sure there were plenty of unofficial gates along the wall as well.

Despite Hakkai's stubborn silence, Gojyo felt his spirits, and a certain body part, lift immediately. The red lights bobbed in the night like merry beacons bringing the weary sailor safely to port. And he was looking forward to being nestled in a snug little harbor. Gojyo used to never pay for sex, because he didn't have to. Then, he'd run into the occasional yuujo beauty working on her own outside the "bamboo wall" and if he had the cash, well, why not?

Since he'd been on the road this past year, he was a frequent patron of brothels. The ikkou was usually only in town overnight, two or three days on the outside if Jeepu needed a rest or one of them needed recovery time. Not long enough to woo a girl. Sometimes, he'd get lucky and an adventurous honey would respond to his flirting and he'd get her into bed, but too many one-night stands in a row got kinda depressing.

Gojyo liked to woo. There was nothing better than the challenge of a romantic pursuit. He remembered before Hakkai, he'd romanced a girl for an entire summer. She was sweet and shy, but Gojyo's instincts sensed a wild streak he was dying to bring out. Preferably all over him in bed. Three months of flirting, little gifts, stolen kisses. It was like watching a peach ripen, mouth watering in anticipation. Then, finally, plucking that peach at the moment of perfection; silky skin, tender meat, sweet, tangy juices filling your mouth...

"Gojyo."

Startled, Gojyo looked down at Hakkai. They were standing in front of the gate, and Hakkai was staring at him with raised eyebrows.

"You were smacking your lips," Hakkai informed him.

"Just thinking about peaches," Gojyo said with a grin.

Gojyo laughed at Hakkai's puzzlement. He turned toward the locked box inside the gate, digging in his pocket. Careful not to show the roll of cash, he pulled out five yen, folded the bills and pushed them through the slot at the top.

"Hey, pal," Gojyo nodded to the guard.

The guard returned the nod, and Gojyo slung his arm around Hakkai's shoulders, surveying the area. Pleasure districts were usually laid out the same way in every town; the more prestigious houses were closest to the gate and the guards, they became less expensive farther away from the front wall, and the cheapest ones were up against the opposite wall, also where the  
illegal gates usually were located. Only men were in the street; the women were inside. Feminine silhouettes moved behind lit paper shade windows, music and incense wafting out through open doorways. Often retired yuujo would sit just inside the doorways, fanning the incense and singing about the beauty and skill of the women inside.

Gojyo inhaled deeply, feeling the excitement pool pleasantly in his groin. He hadn't indulged during the whole month he'd been saving up for this joint adventure with Hakkai.

"This looks promising," Gojyo hauled them to a stop in front of a modest, clean-looking establishment. The elegant characters on the noren read: "The Pink Lotus".

"The name is a bit... blunt," Hakkai commented.

"I think it's poetic," Gojyo grinned at his friend. "Let's go pluck some flowers."

"Gojyo," Hakkai didn't quite roll his eyes as Gojyo pulled him through the noren into the brothel.

________

Less than an hour later, Gojyo and Hakkai were sitting in hakamas around a low table in a private room with two beautiful yuujo. Well, Hakkai was sitting. Gojyo was reclining on his side, propped up on an elbow. His escort for the evening, Misaki, was kneeling between him and the table, pouring sake into choko, small ceramic cups decorated with little lotus flowers. The other girl, Aika, sat a little away from the table, playing a shamisen and singing a folk song in a pretty, sweet voice.

Gojyo snuck glances at Hakkai as his friend watched the performance on the well-worn three string lute. The brunette wore the usual fake smile, but his body language was more relaxed than it had been all week. Gojyo hid his smile by pressing his face against Misaki's obi.

When he had set the evening up with the Pink Lotus' matron, he had explained his friend hadn't been with a woman since his wife died. The matron's painted, wrinkled face had pulled with pity, and she promised a gentle, kind-hearted girl. It seemed to be working.

"_Sakura sakura_

_no-yama mo sato mo_

_mi-watasu kagiri_..."

Gojyo pulled back as Misaki twisted around to hand him a choko of sake. He smiled up at her and cupped his long fingers around hers. Rubbing his thumb over her wrist, he tilted his head and kissed her hand. Her almond eyes warmed, and her red lips curved up into a small smile. He released her hand and sipped the sake as she served Hakkai. The strong taste of bananas and vanilla danced across his tongue, and he glanced down into the cup of transparent, amber-tinted liquid in surprise.

"Iwaizake," he said.

Misaki glanced back at him over her shoulder as Hakkai swirled the sake in his choko, inhaling the released scent. The healer made an appreciative noise.

"Mother said you were celebrating tonight," she said in a low, slightly husky voice that Gojyo couldn't wait to hear crying his name.

Gojyo's cock twitched at the thought, and he scooted closer, reaching around her slim waist to set the choko on the table. He brushed against the side of her breast as he withdrew his arm. Above the curved profile of her cheek, eyelashes fluttered. Misaki kept her hands folded on the edge of the table.

"_Kasumi ka kumo ka_

_asahi ni niō..."_

He lightly brushed his knuckles down her side, opening his hand to cover the top of her thigh. He stroked up and down under the table, feeling the silk warm beneath his hand. She shifted, parting her thighs and loosening the front fold of the kimono tucked under her legs. On the next upward stroke, Gojyo deftly slid his hand under the side flap of the kimono, pulling back the fold underneath on the down stroke. Misaki's skin was as soft as the silk kimono, but much warmer, and Gojyo leisurely traced patterns on the exposed flesh with his fingertips. The back in front of him straightened as Misaki struggled to remain outwardly composed while he played with her under the table.

"_Sakura sakura_

_hana-zakari..."_

Gojyo pulled on her thigh gently, and she spread her knees wider for him. Snuggling closer to Misaki's back, Gojyo rubbed his nose against her waist and slid his hand up toward her groin. He could feel the heat radiating from her already and smiled.

When the matron had asked Gojyo about his personal preference, he hadn't bothered with a physical description. He'd just said, "Gimme a firecracker."

He rested the side of his hand at the fold of her inner thigh, and felt Misaki wasn't wearing any underwear, not even a hakama, and she was shaved. With his middle finger, Gojyo stroked up the slit of Misaki's pussy. The thigh under his hand flexed, and ceramic rattled when her hands jerked on the table. Gojyo kept stroking between the swollen lips, feeling them slick up as her juices started flowing.

"Allow me," Hakkai offered solicitously.

The brunette leaned forward and dabbed up the spilled sake with a napkin. The healer glanced down at Gojyo, who tried to look innocent, which was difficult, considering he was now rubbing Misaki's little nub and she was breathing hard, gripping the edge of the table.

Green eyes followed the line of Gojyo's arm where it disappeared under the table in Misaki's lap, and the pale man flushed. Giving up on innocence, Gojyo gave his friend a roguish grin and a half-shrug. Hakkai's flush deepened and the green eyes averted.

Deciding subtlety was pointless now, Gojyo pushed himself up to a sitting position and and kissed Misaki's lovely long neck. Reaching under the table with his left hand, he gripped her left thigh and pulled her open wider, working her hard with his right hand.

She had also forsaken composure and was pushing back against him, back arched, thighs and rear end flexing. He kissed her ear and flicked his tongue inside, eliciting a shiver.

"Cum into my hand, sweetheart," Gojyo whispered in her ear, "and I'll take you behind that screen and fuck you properly."

The thigh muscles under his hands tensed, and Misaki came with a small gasp, wetness spurting over Gojyo's fingers. He rubbed her slit gently until the spasms passed, then withdrew his fingers and released her thigh. Reaching up, he gripped her chin with his left hand to make sure she was watching, then sucked her juices off his right fingers. The almond eyes widened slightly, and red lips parted. Not every man would go down on a woman, but as long she was clean, Gojyo not only didn't mind, he loved it. There were certain sounds a woman only made when she was having her pussy eaten out, and it made her nice and hot and wet. If it was done right, she'd be begging for the cock.

Gojyo heard a lot of begging.

Allowing his desire for her to show in his eyes, Gojyo gazed unblinking into Misaki's eyes and licked his lips. A heartbeat later he found himself with an armful of woman. Soft lips pressed against his, and he kissed Misaki back as he pulled her hard against him with his left arm, sliding his right under her knees. Her arms locked around his neck, and he levered himself to his feet, cradling her in his arms. For safety's sake, Gojyo broke the kiss so he could navigate around the table, and Misaki shifted her attention to his neck, giving him little licks and bites.

"Oh yeah," Gojyo murmured. A real firecracker.

Right before he stepped behind the free-standing shoji screen separating one of the futons from the rest of the room, Gojyo leaned his head back and winked at Hakkai. The healer was still red-faced, but seemed calm enough as he poured himself another cup of sake. Gojyo figured his friend would move at his own pace with Aika. If he wanted to sit, drink sake and listen to her play for a while, it was no skin off Gojyo's nose. He, on the other hand, was more than ready to get started.

Gojyo ate Misaki's pussy until his jaw ached and she was whimpering. He'd already made her cum once in his mouth, and now he was teasing her, bringing her to the edge, then backing off and kissing her thighs until her hips were bucking up and twisting into empty air. She'd been pulling his hair so much, he'd been forced to take drastic measures.

He sat back on his heels to look at her. They were both naked, glistening with sweat, and he'd propped her hips up under the pillow. Her hands were bound together with a hemp rope above her head, secured through the loop on a large fu dog statue probably placed there for that specific purpose, considering he had found the bag of boiled hemp rope there. It was a loop knot that she could slip out of herself if she moved her hands toward the dog and gave the rope slack, but gave the feeling of being secure if it was pulled on. And Misaki was pulling hard. Her lily-white petite body writhed on the futon, making her breasts jiggle. Unable to resist, Gojyo leaned forward and captured a puckered rose in his mouth, sucking.

Misaki moaned, arching upward, and Gojyo's hand found the other nipple, rolling it between his fingers. He'd played with her nipples when he made her cum the first time on the futon, and discovered she liked them pinched. Always had to be careful there; women had different levels of sensitivity, and sometimes that changed depending on how aroused they were. Apparently the more aroused Misaki got, the rougher she liked the play. Fine by Gojyo. He liked to play all kinds of bed games and as long as his partner was happy, it was all good.

Gojyo felt Misaki's heels on the small of his back as she ground her hips up into him, seeking stimulation for a pussy he knew had to be aching with need by now. He released her nipples and looked down at her. The almond eyes were almost black, her pupils were so dilated, face flushed, long black hair loose over her upstretched arms, lipstick smeared and lips swollen from kissing.

"Nuh-huh," he scolded her gently. "That's cheating."

The undulating hips paused for a moment as the almond eyes locked on his, calculating. Gojyo waited for her next cue. She gave it to him by deliberately grinding her hips up against him again. He grinned.

"Okay, then, baby," Gojyo reached up and snagged the coiled pile of hemp rope, giving her a quick kiss. "If you wanna stop, say, "sake", ok?" he whispered.

He waited until Misaki nodded with a smile, then sat back on his heels. There were two more fu dogs at the bottom corners of the futon, but he didn't like tying partners up that way because it restricted movement too much. Instead, Gojyo preferred the Kinbaku-bi, beautiful bondage, technique, which he had spent an entire fun-filled week with a freelance yuujo named Ayano learning. He had been nervous at first, afraid of hurting her, and she had laughed.

"Men tie up women's bodies because they cannot tie up our hearts," Ayano said. "You should be afraid of me hurting you, Gojyo-san."

Gojyo bent Misaki's right knee and wrapped the hemp rope around her ankle and thigh, essentially binding her to herself. Apparently giving Misaki a safe word made her a little more feisty, because when Gojyo reached for her left leg, she pushed him in the chest with her foot. Chuckling, he firmly grabbed her thigh and tied her quickly, finishing with a light slap on the hip.

Since her hands were already secured, Gojyo decided to do the Shinju, breast harness, first. He folded one of the lengths of hemp in half and slid it under Misaki's back, pulling the ends up under her armpits. He twisted the ends together against her skin, pulling it tight. He tested the tension with his finger, then plaited a short length down her sternum. Slipping the open end through the looped end, he wrapped the rope around her chest again, under her breasts. Ayano had been very specific about not making any actual knots; knots were hard and unpleasant and left bruises. Always wrap and twist. Now for the real tension.

Gojyo pushed the second binding up snug under Misaki's breasts, and separated the ends. He looped one end around each shoulder, and brought them back down, slipping them through the horizontal binding under the breast. Carefully, he pulled the ends downward, tightening the harness he'd just made, lifting Misaki's breasts upward,and watched the nipples harden to points. He wanted to touch them, but restrained himself. He should allow her to concentrate on the sensation of being tied.

A quick check showed Misaki had closed her eyes, but her face was relaxed and flushed, lips parted. He neatly finished off the ends by wrapping them multiple times around the under breast line.

Grabbing another length of hemp, Gojyo started the Karada, the body harness. Folding the rope in half again, he wrapped it around her torso snugly, testing the tension with his finger before beginning the vertical plait to the next horizontal wrap. When he finished it off, there was a lovely diamond pattern down her stomach and abdomen; he even managed to frame her belly button perfectly. Again, he was tempted to touch her, just a quick flick of the tongue in that perfect little navel, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Kinbaku-bi took a lot of patience and restraint on the part of the tori, the one who ties. Gojyo had fucked up a lot when he was learning with Ayano, since he had a hard time keeping his hands, and tongue, and mouth, to himself. Fortunately, she had been a very forgiving sensei.

Folding another rope in half, Gojyo started the Sakuranbo, the groin harness. Sliding the rope between her hips and the pillow, he pulled the ends through the bottom diamond framing her bellybutton, wrapped it behind her, then pulled it up between her legs. Here, Gojyo paused. If he had his way, he'd be fucking her while she was tied, so he didn't want to block the access, but he also wanted to give Misaki the pleasure of feeling the pressure and friction of the rope against her pussy. He decided on the open flower. Gently, Gojyo opened the folds and slid one length of the doubled rope into the slit, placing one length along each side so the clit was framed. Then he brought the ends back up over her abdomen and through the bottom diamond again.

Very slowly, watching Misaki's face, Gojyo reached under her to pull in the slack underneath first. The rope went deeper into her ass, and he had to tug a little more firmly, and then he moved his grip higher on the rope, pulling it into her pussy, deepening the puffy folds. The pink flesh darkened and glistened with moisture, the little node popping free of its hood. Gojyo wrapped off the ends and sat back to admire his work.

"Fucking beautiful," he said in appreciation.

Misaki's eyes opened, and if he thought the pupils had been dilated before, they were so large now the brown irises were almost completely eclipsed. She had a deep flush high on her cheeks and she was panting lightly. Gojyo was so hard looking at her his foreskin felt tight. Leaning forward, he trailed his fingertips down the inside of her arms, brushing her cheeks with his thumbs, then down her neck, stopping at the rope line.

Very lightly, he spiraled up her bound breasts, then cupped them in his hands. The nipples looked painfully hard, and he knew she would want them sucked hard in a hot mouth, pinched, anything for relief. Instead, he blew on them and released her.

"Nn!" Misaki whimpered in protest.

Gojyo ignored it. Unless he heard "sake", he was gonna tease the hell out of her. Or for as long as he could take it, anyway. His balls were aching fiercely. He trailed his fingers over her chest, sides and abdomen, tracing the skin inside the rope patterns, and blew inside her navel. Another whimper, and she was starting to writhe again on the futon. Grasping her knees, Gojyo pushed her bound legs up and out, pulling the groin rope and spreading her pussy wide.

Misaki's whimpers deepened into near sobs and he heard the hemp rope creak as she pulled her hands. Bending down, pushing enough of his weight on her legs to pin her completely and careful not to touch her anywhere else, Gojyo blew on the glistening dark pink flesh.

"Ah!" He felt Misaki push up against him, and another loud creak that made him hope the fu dog was bolted to the floor.

"Please..." Misaki panted, "touch me..."

"I am touching you," Gojyo teased, squeezing her knees.

"More, please," Misaki arched her chest and tried to roll her hips up.

Unable to deny a lady's direct request, Gojyo released Misaki's knees and reached up to pinch her nipples, simultaneously flicking her clit with the tip of his tongue.

"Ahhh!" Misaki cried out as she came again, her entire body shivering.

Feeling rather pleased with himself, Gojyo licked his way up Misaki's body, holding his own body off hers, enjoying the way she rose up as much as she could in anticipation of each tiny touch. Finally, he enveloped the cherry red nipples in his mouth, sucking and laving them with his tongue. Misaki sighed in relief, arching against him. Gojyo raised himself up on his hands and let his groin press down against hers.

They groaned together. He rocked his hips, sliding his long cock along the soft wetness. Feeling his control fraying, he looked down at her gorgeous face, cupping a flushed cheek in his palm.

"I wanna fuck you now, sweetheart," he whispered.

"Yesss," Misaki's eyes were half-closed as she rocked with him.

Balancing himself on one forearm, Gojyo reached down between their bodies and lined the head of his cock up with her waiting pussy...

They both jerked at a loud crash from the other side of the shoji screen. Fighting instincts kicking in, Gojyo rolled off Misaki onto the balls of his feet, rising to stand between her and danger, and knocked the screen down flat.

He had a moment to register the only other people in the room were still Hakkai and Aika before the little singer ran sobbing into his arms. Gojyo automatically cradled the girl against his bare chest, stroking her back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Misaki stretch up her hands and release herself from the fu dog, then roll up and begin untying her legs. The crash had come from the low table being overturned.

"Shh," Gojyo murmured. "Everything's okay."

Stomach sinking, Gojyo stared at his best friend, who was calmly retying the front of his hakama. Without looking up, Hakkai righted the table and began cleaning up the mess. Turning around, Gojyo squatted with Aika on the futon, and Misaki put an arm around the upset girl. Gojyo stroked Aika's hair and kissed her wet cheeks.

"Please," he whispered, "don't cry, sweetheart."

When the tears kept coming, Gojyo cupped her face in his hands and wiped them with his thumbs.

"Hey, hey," he squeezed gently until her eyes opened and she peered up at him. "It kills me when pretty girls cry."

Aika took a deep, shivering breath and to Gojyo's immense relief, the tears stopped. He smiled and bent down to kiss the last glimmering drops clinging to her eyelashes.

"Much better," he said. He kept stroking her hair and face while he talked to her. "Why don't you stay here a minute with Misaki while I go talk to my friend, ok?"

She nodded, sniffing. Gojyo raised an eyebrow at Misaki, who nodded, and wrapped both arms around Aika. Any other time, the image of a naked bound woman hugging another woman in a kimono would be hot, but Gojyo was too pissed off to be turned on. Rising, he dropped a kiss on the top of Misaki's head.

"Be right back," he murmured. Another nod.

Gojyo paused to set the shojo screen back in place, then walked over to Hakkai, heedless of his nudity. He stood there for a moment, but the brunette refused to look up, instead choosing to arrange the dishes on the table. Finally fed up, Gojyo dropped down onto the cushions.

"What the fuck, man?" Gojyo demanded.

Hakkai's hand paused in the action of moving a cup next to the other one, then continued on course, setting it down carefully. Gojyo noticed a crack ran through the little lotus flower.

"It is never cool to make a woman cry," Gojyo said.

"I assure you, that was not my intention," Hakkai replied calmly.

"What was your intention?" Gojyo prodded.

"What was yours?" Hakkai finally looked up at him. The healer's face was a blank mask, but the green eyes flared with anger.

Oh crap. Angry Hakkai was never good.

"What do you mean?" Gojyo asked cautiously. Maybe he had fucked up again somewhere and not realized it.

Hakkai lowered his eyes, and started folding the napkins. Gojyo sighed.

"Seriously, Kai. Just tell me," Gojyo reached out and lay his hand on Hakkai's wrist.

"Why did you bring me here?" Hakkai asked quietly.

Gojyo frowned. The quick answers popped into his head: to get laid, to have fun, to spend time together away from the other two. But, all those responses were too obvious, which meant they were wrong. What was Hakkai really asking him? Fuck, it was harder to translate Hakkai-ese than usual when all his blood was in his cock.

He remembered how his heart had twisted up inside when he'd seen Hakkai jerking off and crying in the woods, and how much worse it hurt when the healer had come back to camp and made dinner with that fake smile.

"I just..." Gojyo hesitated, searching for the right words. "I just wanted to give you something to make you feel good," he finished. It wasn't quite right, and kinda lame, but it was the best he could do at the moment.

When Hakkai looked up at him, the anger in the green eyes was gone, replaced by something more evaluating. Gojyo waited. If Hakkai really didn't want to do this, Gojyo would walk behind that screen, untie Misaki, kiss both girls goodbye, and give them the secret stash of yen in his boot.

"Alright, then," Hakkai said quietly. "I shall apologize to Aika, and we can... continue."

"Uh, hold on," Gojyo squeezed Hakkai's wrist, keeping him from rising. "First, tell me what happened."

"Ah, well," Hakkai cleared his throat, smoothing the napkin with his fingertips. "She attempted to perform oral sex."

Gojyo stared at his friend, waiting for the rest of it, which never came. He slapped his face into his palm, and rubbed his jaw.

"Kai, are you telling me a pretty girl tried to give you a blow job and you knocked over a table and scared the shit out of her?"

Hakkai straightened. "She startled me," he said defensively.

Gojyo peered at his friend over the top of his hand, unsure whether to laugh or sigh in exasperation. Just how inexperienced was the other man with women? Some of what he was thinking must have shown on his face, because Hakkai cleared his throat again.

"I was only fifteen when I met Kaanan," Hakkai said quietly.

"And she never...?" Gojyo bent closer, lowering his voice as well.

"I would never ask her to do something so demeaning," Hakkai responded.

Gojyo sat back, stunned. He didn't know what was more startling; that Hakkai considered a fairly standard act of sex demeaning, or that he was sitting next to a twenty-year old man who had never had a blow job. Gojyo had started off with blow jobs before he even had sex, and he had lost his virginity before fifteen. He quickly realized he should never have left Hakkai alone with Aika. Standing, Gojyo held his hand out to Hakkai.

"Come on," he said.

"To apologize?" Hakkai took Gojyo's hand and he pulled the healer to his feet.

"Sorta. Just trust me, okay?" Gojyo gave Hakkai a warm smile. "I'm gonna take care of everything."

To Gojyo's relief, Hakkai didn't question him, he just nodded. Scooping up the discarded shamisen, Gojyo strolled back to the screen. When he stepped around it, he saw that Misaki was still holding Aika, but she had thrown her kimono on over her bound body. Gojyo squatted down in front of the two women.

"Hey," he smiled gently at Aika. "Do you know the song Moonlight on the Ruined Castle?" he asked.

"Kojo no Tsuki?" she nodded. "Of course."

He handed her the shamisen. "Do you think you could play it for me, sweetheart?" he gave her his most dazzling smile.

Aika blushed and smiled shyly. "Hai, Gojyo-san."

"It's just plain Gojyo," he said, lifting her up from the futon. He guided her to a spot on the floor on the other side of the screen. "Why don't you sit here and play, okay?"

Aika sank gracefully into a kneeling position and started tuning the shamisen. Out of the corner of his eye, Gojyo saw Hakkai step forward, mouth opening, and intercepted him with a firm grip on his elbow. Green eyes flicked over to him and eyebrows rose in question.

"Let her be," Gojyo said under his breath. "C'mere."

Making sure Hakkai stayed on his side of the screen, Gojyo knelt on the futon next to Misaki, and turned up the charm again. Her lips quirked into a smile. Leaning forward, he nuzzled her neck and stroked her side, feeling the lines of rope under the thin silk.

"The matron told you my friend's a widower?" Gojyo whispered in her ear. Misaki nodded, her hair tickling his nose. "I gotta stay with him. Will you help me, sweetheart?"

In response, Misaki turned her head and kissed him on the mouth. Firecracker. On the other side of the screen, Aika started playing the shamisen, and a few moments later, she began singing softly.

"Haru koro no hana no en..."

Straightening, Gojyo pulled Hakkai over to the futon. Before the healer could stop him, he untied the hakama and pulled it off the startled man, tossing it aside.

"Gojyo, what are you-" Hakkai began.

"Hey. Trust, right?" Gojyo pulled Hakkai down onto the futon with him, pressing him onto his back, kneeling between his legs.

"We change in front of each other, take baths together..." Gojyo took a quick inventory and noticed little Hakkai hadn't stepped up yet.

"Oil?" he asked Misaki.

She reached behind the fu dog and produced a small vial. When he held out a cupped hand, she uncapped it and poured a small amount into his palm. He gestured with his chin and Masaki moved in front of him. With his dry hand, he pulled her toward Hakkai, and she straddled the healer's waist.

"I had my hands inside your guts, you've had your hands all over me healing wounds..." Gojyo grasped Hakkai's limp cock.

"Gojyo!" Hakkai's voice almost squeaked.

"Hey, think of it like a massage," Gojyo said. "Massages are very healthful, right?"

Any further protest Hakkai might have had went unheard as Misaki leaned forward and began kissing him. Gently, Gojyo started squeezing and pulling up on Hakkai's cock, massaging his balls with his other hand. He got a little worried when there was no response at first, but then the cock stiffened, and the balls got heavier and tightened up.

"Meguru sakazuki kage sashite..." Aika's sweet voice drifted over the screen.

Gojyo steadily stroked Hakkai's cock, applying more pressure as it hardened. Even though he tended to prefer the company of women, because there was something about the contrast of soft curves against hard planes, he had slept with a few men. A nice ass was a nice ass. Speaking of which... Gojyo reached out with his free hand and lifted up the back of Misaki's kimono. The sight of the hemp rope dividing those two perfect globes made his mouth water. Leaning forward, he gently bit an ass cheek, and then kissed it.

Misaki responded by pressing down on Hakkai and lifting her ass up, spreading her knees. Deciding they were both ready, Gojyo grasped Misaki's hip and guided her backward. He rubbed the head of Hakkai's cock against her slick slit, and heard both of them moan. Lining up Hakkai, Gojyo pulled on Misaki, and she sat up straight, slowly lowering herself. Gojyo felt desire flare as he watched Hakkai's cock disappear inside her. When she was fully seated, she wriggled a little, and Hakkai's legs jerked.

Sitting up on his knees, Gojyo reached around and pulled open Misaki's kimono. He stopped when he heard Hakkai gasp, and peeked down at his friend.

"She's... bound," Hakkai's eyes were wide.

"Gojyo-san is very talented," Misaki threw a hot glance back at him over her shoulder.

Smiling, Gojyo kissed her, then slid the kimono off her shoulders and down her arms. He chased the silk with more kisses down her white skin, then dropped it in a shimmering pool by the futon.

"Gojyo... you did this?" Hakkai asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Oh crap. If Hakkai had issues with oral sex...

Gojyo sighed, resting his chin on Misaki's shoulder. To his surprise, Hakkai was lightly tracing the ropes on the front of her body.

"This is... beautiful," Hakkai breathed.

Startled, Gojyo laughed, then kissed Misaki's neck in apology for making a loud sound so close to her ear.

"Hakkai," Gojyo grinned down at his friend. "You are so fucked up."

Hakkai raised his eyebrows. "I would imagine that would be beyond question at this point, Gojyo."

This time it was Misaki who laughed. She touched Hakkai's hands on the ropes, and traced down his arms. Bracing herself with her hands on his chest, she began rocking her hips. Gojyo smiled when Hakkai's eyes closed and his friend's head tilted back in pleasure. He kissed the back of Misaki's neck and cupped her breasts, thumbs rubbing her nipples. She tilted her head back onto his shoulder as she rode Hakkai in a slow, easy rhythm.

"Mmm." Misaki lifted one arm up over her head to touch Gojyo's cheek. "You too," she whispered.

Gojyo's thumbs paused, then he continued massaging her breasts. He kissed her ear.

"Are you sure?" he whispered back. She nodded. "It's still sake, okay?" Gojyo added.

Misaki nodded again, and when she opened her eyes, Gojyo saw they were dilated again. Not needing to be asked twice, Gojyo kissed and sucked his way down her spine, pushing her forward, and she shifted her hands so she was braced on the floor. The movement was more restricted, but she kept rolling those gorgeous hips.

Gojyo poured more oil, and pulled the rope to the side, eliciting a moan. Leaning down to kiss the small of her back, Gojyo rubbed his oiled middle finger against the little pucker. He let it rest there, following Misaki and Hakkai's slow movement, then pushed it in up to the first knuckle when Misaki's hips rolled back. Another moan. He rubbed her ass and kissed her back. When she pushed back, the finger went in to the second knuckle. Another push, the finger went all the way in. Gojyo rotated the finger in a small circle, and the rhythm faltered.

"She just... tightened," Hakkai said.

"Yeah," Gojyo kept rubbing and squeezing Misaki's ass, rotating his finger inside her. "I need you to hold still for minute, okay, Kai?"

Gojyo looked down the line of Misaki's back and met Hakkai's puzzled look, but the healer nodded.

Slowly, Gojyo pulled his finger out to the first knuckle, added his index finger, and pushed both digits in with a twisting motion. Misaki groaned and he felt the walls flutter and squeeze him.

"Ah, haha," Hakkai laughed weakly, and a strained look crossed his face. "She's..."

"I know," Gojyo patted his friend's thigh. "She's gonna get a lot tighter in a second. Be very still." Removing his fingers, Gojyo slicked up his cock with a couple of quick strokes.

"What are you doing?" Hakkai lifted his head and craned his neck, trying to see up past Misaki. Misaki herself was panting and trembling; Gojyo suspected her arms were going to give out as soon as he entered her.

"Put Misaki's hands back on your chest," Gojyo instructed.

Hakkai complied, and Gojyo felt some of the trembling stop, and her ass raised up a couple of inches. He bowed forward over her, kissing her neck and stroking her back and ass.

"Easy, sweetheart," he soothed. "I'm going to put my cock in now, okay?"

The black head nodded, and Gojyo straightened up. Bracing one hand on her hip, pulling her ass open, he lined up his cock and slowly pushed against the pucker. There was a moment of resistance, then he pushed past the tight ring and slid in nearly halfway.

"Fuck," Gojyo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Holding her hips with both hands now, Gojyo slowly pushed his cock inside her ass. When his balls brushed up against her, he bent forward to kiss her back, stroking her sides.

"Holy fuck," he breathed. "You're so tight, sweetheart."

"Gojyo," Hakkai's voice sounded strangled.

"You okay?" Gojyo asked in concern. Hakkai's whole face was red.

"I can... feel you," Hakkai said, not meeting his eyes.

Gojyo laughed and reached down and cupped the side of Hakkai's face. Green eyes looked up and Gojyo smiled.

"I can feel you, too," Gojyo said. "It's okay. It's going to be very good. Just relax."

Gojyo sat back on his heels, and with one hand on Misaki's hip and one hand gripping Hakkai's thigh, he slowly pulled out and pushed in. After a few awkward thrusts, he guided the three of them into a rhythm similar to the easy one from before. Misaki gripped him like a damp silk glove, and through the thin membrane inside her, he could feel Hakkai's cock slide in and out of her pussy. It felt fucking incredible; he was sweating with the effort to go slow for the both of them.

He felt like weeping with relief with Misaki met him with a hard push back. Taking a firm hold of her hip, he started thrusting in earnest, eliciting a sobbing gasp from her and a startled grunt from Hakkai. Reaching down, he pulled Hakkai's knee up so his foot was planted and he could keep up with the increased pace. Hakkai was nothing if not a quick study, and bent his other knee without prodding.

Gojyo felt Hakkai's cock pumping into Misaki from underneath, then the brunette's hips tilted up locked.

"Ah!" Hakkai cried out as he came.

"Fuckfuckfuck," Gojyo muttered through clenched teeth.

He was at his limit. Knowing she could stop him with a word, Gojyo reached down and grabbed a fistful of rope, pulling Misaki upward, tilting her hips back into him. She bowed back beautifully, hands pushed against Hakkai's chest, hair rippling in a black cascade, breasts jutted out. The move almost completely immobilized her except for her arms. Gojyo waited a moment as he continued thrusting, but the only sounds Misaki made were moans of pleasure.

Reaching down, Gojyo grabbed one of Hakkai's hands resting on Misaki's hip and moved it up to her breast. He squeezed his hand around Hakkai's, and Misaki moaned, pushing forward into the touch. Hakkai's other hand rose and mimicked the motion. Letting Hakkai go, Gojyo pinched her nipple. Misaki cried out and bucked.

"Please... Gojyo..." Misaki panted.

Misaki's hands curled against Hakkai's chest, and Gojyo saw the nails gouge the pale flesh, but the healer didn't flinch.

"Pinch her hard," Gojyo instructed.

Hakkai's nimble fingers gripped Misaki's nipples and twisted as Gojyo gripped her hips. Pulling nearly all the way out, he fucked her ass in earnest, slamming into her so hard he could hear the flesh slap. He felt her sag against the ropes, and he pulled her back into the tight bow, snapping his hips forward. Gojyo grunted with the effort. Slipping one hand around her hip, he pulled on the groin harness. Misaki cried out, but it still wasn't the right kind of cry. Gojyo's long fingers slid down and rubbed her clit. He was pounding into her too hard to finger her with any kind of finesse, but apparently all it took was that extra touch.

Misaki came with a scream, spurting on his fingers and clamping her ass tight on his cock. Gojyo slammed into her one last time, pressing close as he followed her over the edge. He released the rope, and she collapsed onto Hakkai, who wrapped his arms around her. Gojyo fell forward, feeling the jolt in his locked arms as he struggled to keep the weight of his larger frame off the other two. He knew he should pull out of her gently, but he was more afraid of crushing her. Gojyo threw himself to the side and collapsed on the futon next to Hakkai, chest heaving.

Gojyo stroked Misaki's side with his knuckles, and realized she was very still. Reaching over, he pulled her off of Hakkai's chest and wrapped himself around her. Hakkai rolled onto his side and gave Gojyo an alarmed look.

"She's unconscious!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, happens sometimes when the fucking gets intense," Gojyo said nonchalantly.

He nuzzled the back of Misaki's neck and slowly started unwrapping the ropes, stroking the reddened skin. Hakkai began helping him, taking minutes to figure out the complex designs it had taken Gojyo days to learn. Misaki stirred, and wriggled her bottom back against his groin.

"Mmm," she smiled slightly, but didn't open her eyes. A moment later her breathing deepened as she fell asleep.

"See? She's okay," Gojyo stifled a yawn.

"Chiyo no matsu ga e wake ideshi  
Mukashi no hikari Ima izu ko..."

Oh, yeah. With great effort, Gojyo lifted his head.

"Aika?" Gojyo called out.

The shamisen stopped playing abruptly, and Aika peeked around the screen. Gojyo smiled at her.

"Wanna join us now, sweetheart?" he asked.

She nodded, and carefully set the shamisen down. She went into the main room and returned with a bucket and cloths. On silent feet, Aika padded over to the futon, kneeling at the foot of it. She dipped the first cloth into the bucket, then hesitated. With a barely suppressed groan, Gojyo rolled up into a sitting position and took the cloth. He tossed it to Hakkai, who caught it neatly.

"Girls first," Gojyo said with a grin.

Hakkai raised an eyebrow at what could have been an insult, and gently began cleaning up Misaki. Gojyo took the second cloth from Aika with a wink and wiped off his cock. When everyone was done and the cloths returned to the bucket, Aika set it aside. She started to pull up the blanket folded at the foot of the futon, and Hakkai sat up to help her. She returned his smile, but it was Gojyo's side of the futon that she went to.

Gojyo rolled over onto his back, Misaki's head pillowed on his right shoulder, and held open his left arm. She undid her kimono and slipped out of it, darting under the covers so quickly, Gojyo only had a glimpse of a petite, white body and small, perky breasts. Then those perky breasts were pressed up against his side, and he kissed the top of her head as she snuggled close. He stroked his hand down her back, and squeezed her ass. She wriggled in a very nice way, and he felt her heat against his thigh.

Mmm. Maybe after he took a little nap...

Gojyo felt a draft, and cracked open an eye to see Hakkai sitting up.

"Where are you going?" he whispered.

Hakkai looked back at him over his shoulder as he sorted through the clothes scattered on the floor.

"Perhaps it would be better if I slept on the other futon," Hakkai made a small noise of triumph as he found his hakama. He shook it out.

"Get your ass back in here," Gojyo said.

"But-" Hakkai's protest was interrupted as Misaki reached out and grabbed his thigh.

"I'm cold, Hakkai-san," she protested in a sultry voice that would have most men diving back into bed. Hakkai hesitated.

"Seriously, man," Gojyo gestured as best he could with his arm trapped under Misaki's neck. "You can't leave me alone with this firecracker. She'll kill me."

Hakkai laughed, and Gojyo grunted as Misaki's elbow found his stomach in the shuffle of Hakkai rejoining them. After a few moments, they settled in with Hakkai on his left side spooning with Misaki, who was half-draped on Gojyo's right side, and Aika pressed up against Gojyo's left side. He sighed in the contentment of tangled limbs and soft breasts and silky hair.

"Gojyo?" Hakkai whispered.

"Mmm?" Gojyo opened his eyes and peered at Hakkai over Misaki's head.

"Have you ever done... that, with anyone else?" Hakkai's face flushed, and he was looking at a point somewhere in the vicinity of Gojyo's left ear.

"What? Anal sex?" Gojyo asked, puzzled.

"No," Hakkai's flush deepened.

Realization dawned. "Oh, shared a woman?" Gojyo chuckled softly as Hakkai nodded. "Sorta. There was this time Banri and I were seriously drunk, but it didn't work out."

"How so?" Hakkai asked, voice a bit clipped. Gojyo knew he didn't like his former roommate.

"Well, Banri's kind of a mean drunk. We ended up getting into a fist fight and the girl left," Gojyo laughed again. "After taking all of our cash."

"Oh. I see," Hakkai sounded slightly hurt.

Gojyo reached out and slipped his hand under Hakkai's neck, pulling the healer closer.

"Hey, Kai," Gojyo squeezed the back of Hakkai's neck until he looked at him. "Tonight, this was special."

The brunette still looked skeptical, and Gojyo leaned forward, eliciting a sleepy protest from the girls. He kissed Hakkai on the forehead and touched their noses together. Green eyes blinked up at him, startled.

"It was special because it was you," Gojyo said firmly.

Releasing Hakkai, he fell back on the pillow, and Aika scooted closer, hooking a leg over his. The heat returned to his thigh, only this time it was damp, and the breasts pressed against his side were crowned with hard nubs. Gojyo felt his cock stir and cupped her tight little ass in his hand, encouraging her to grind on him.

Maybe he didn't need that nap after all.

GLOSSARY:

Yuujo - prostitute, woman of pleasure

Hakamas - a type of traditional Japanese clothing tied at the waist and falling approximately to the ankles.

Choko - small sake cups. They are intentionally small because they are part of the congenial ritual of o-shaku - pouring for one's drinking companion. They are small precisely so that you get to pour more often.

Shamisen - a 3-stringed lute. It first became popular in the pleasure districts during the Edo Period (1600~1868) and also began to be used for the musical accompaniment in kabuki performances. Shamisen are made from one of a variety of woods such as red sandalwood and the head covered with cat or dog skin. The pegs are traditionally made of ivory while the strings are twisted silk.

Iwaizake - "celebration sake" served at special events like Shinto festivals, weddings, store openings, sports and election victories, and other celebrations.

Kinbaku-bi - "beautiful bondage" is a Japanese style of sexual bondage which involves tying up the bottom using simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope, usually hemp or jute. For historic reasons (bondage used to be used to torture prisoners), Kinbaku uses very few knots, sometimes none at all, or only a cow hitch or an overhand knot. This requires rope with high friction. According to Sensei Nawa Yumio in his 1964 classic book on Torinawa, knots on a person was regarded as extremely disgraceful, something some would regard as worse than death. Restraints with no knots were not considered "bondage" and there was no shame in such; therefore, "wrappings" were used.

Shinju - "pearls" a breast harness made of rope

Karada - "rope dress" body harness made of rope

Tori - literally "he who ties"

Sakuranbo - "cherry" crotch harness made of rope

Song Translations:

Cherry Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,  
Blanketing the countryside,  
As far as you can see.  
Is it a mist, or clouds?  
Fragrant in the morning sun.  
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,  
Flowers in full bloom.

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,  
Across the Spring sky,  
As far as you can see.  
Is it a mist, or clouds?  
Fragrant in the air.  
Come now, come,  
Let's look, at last!

Moonlight on the Ruined Castle

Cherry blossoms gracefully

bloom o'er the fields that lie,  
High up is the castle wall,

where have warriors gone?  
Where is the moonlight

that brightly shone up high,  
Shone upon the warriors

who drained the glasses dry?


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Pink Lotus Song

Author: Lotus

Pairing(s): Hakkai/Gojyo/Other(s)

Rating: NC17

Summary: Gojyo visits the red lantern district to celebrate his birthday, and drags Hakkai along with him.

Warning: Language, Sexual Situations, Hints of Yaoi, Het, Oral Sex, Mentions of Incest

Notes: Sequel to "Red Lantern Birthday"

Disclaimer: Kazuya Minekura's beautiful boys. If they were mine, there'd be more stops at onsens, secluded woodland bathing pools, shower scenes and overall general nudity. And fewer female wait staff.

Hakkai lay on his side, arm awkwardly draped over Misaki and tried to ignore the feminine moaning coming from the far side of the futon. Finally, unable to resist, he shifted a little so he could see past the top of Misaki's dark head. Gojyo was still laying on his back with Aika pressed against his side and they were kissing rather ardently. The coverlet had pulled halfway down the redhead's chest, so Hakkai could clearly see Gojyo was fondling Aika's small, round breasts, his tanned hands startlingly dark on her white skin. As he watched, those long fingers rolled a pink nipple, and Aika groaned, the sound swallowed by Gojyo's busy mouth.

Movement under the covers caught Hakkai's attention, and he realized Aika was pushing herself against Gojyo. He felt his face flush as the regular rhythm of her movements registered, and understood she was essentially humping Gojyo's leg. The redhead broke the kiss.

"That's it, sweetheart," Gojyo whispered, "Cum for me."

Hakkai's mouth went dry as Aika moved a little faster, then went rigid. She buried her face in Gojyo's neck and let out a little whimpering cry. Gojyo's large hand stroked down her front and side, disappearing under the covers. He squeezed her closer in a hug.

"That's a good girl," Gojyo's voice was warm with approval.

Hakkai swallowed. He couldn't believe Gojyo had just made a woman orgasm with such little apparent effort. In preparation for his first time with Kanaan, Hakkai had read every text he could acquire on the subject of sexual intercourse, ignoring the odd looks from the bookkeepers. It had taken two tries to get a hold of an illustrated copy of the Kama Sutra, because the first vendor refused to sell it to a fifteen-year-old.

Months of study and he had still failed miserably. Despite all his loving intentions, the incredible feeling of being inside a woman for the first time had ignited his passion and he lost the tenuous hold on his control. Hakkai still vividly remembered Kanaan's cry of pain when he broke through her hymen, pulling out of her with blood on his penis, her turning away to curl up naked on her side, crying.

Even though they slept side-by-side in bed every night, it had been six months before he dared to approach her again. Although there was no pain for her the second time, there also was no pleasure. After that, she never said no when he requested sex, but he was aware it was something she endured only out of love for him. She would lay still and passive while he pumped into her, carefully pulling out before ejaculation and spilling his seed into a towel in his hand. Afterwards, she drank her tea and was warm and tender when they kissed and cuddled until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Certainly in the three years they were together he had never heard her moan in pleasure or cry out sweetly for him in orgasm.

Tonight was the first time Hakkai had been inside a woman when she came, and he didn't doubt it was because Gojyo had brought her to that point of ecstasy. Hakkai watched the redhead stroke and pet the content woman in his arms, whispering into her hair, making her smile. Hakkai's face burned when he thought about the things Gojyo had done to Misaki. The redhead had brazenly fingered her under the table until the black-haired woman came, nearly knocking over the sake bottle. Gojyo had then carried her off behind a screen that might as well not have been there for as clearly as Hakkai could hear Misaki moaning and crying out in obvious pleasure. Eventually, she actually started begging, and Hakkai was shocked to hear the woman plead with Gojyo to put his "long cock inside".

At that point, Hakkai's escort for the evening had decide to take matters into her own hands, literally. Regret stirred as Hakkai recalled the petite girl's terrified expression when he violently jerked away from her, inadvertently knocking over the low table. When she had opened his robe and grasped his penis, images of blood and tears and sad failure had overwhelmed him. And then, he had been angry at Gojyo for his thoughtlessness in dragging him to such a place on what was obviously a fabricated excuse for the redhead to indulge himself.

Or so he had thought. Hakkai watched his friend treat Aika with such gentle tenderness, a girl he would never see again after tonight. No, the generous-hearted redhead had brought Hakkai here to try to make him happy, if only for a short time. Because Gojyo was able to forget his worries in simple pleasures like a pretty woman or good sake, he mistakenly believed Hakkai could be likewise distracted.

Gojyo's head turned on the pillow and crimson eyes met his. Embarrassed at being caught watching, Hakkai blushed and started to duck behind Misaki. The redhead gave him a lazy smile and reached above Misaki's head to brush Hakkai's cheek with the back of his knuckles. Gojyo let his open hand rest on Hakkai's pillow and whispered something to Aika.

The petite woman peeked at Hakkai from under Gojyo's chin and smiled shyly. Hakkai politely returned the smile, wondering what Gojyo had said and why they were both looking at him. Aika sat up on her knees, blanket sliding down to her waist and pulling it nearly completely off Gojyo. The redhead rolled over onto his right side and kissed the sleeping Misaki.

"Hey, baby," Gojyo whispered, "I'm gonna move you, okay?"

"Mmm," Misaki responded, face tilting up toward him like a flower toward the sun.

Gojyo pulled at Misaki, who immediately went to him, draping herself over his body while he rolled onto his back. With twinges of misgiving, Hakkai watched Aika lithely crawl into the space vacated by the other woman. Hakkai was beginning to suspect another well-intentioned idea from his friend.

"Gojyo," he began, "if you need privacy with Misaki-chan, I can move to the other futon."

With fast reflexes considering he had an armful of wriggling woman, Gojyo grabbed Hakkai's hip under the covers.

"Not a chance I'm letting you outta my sight," Gojyo said with a wink.

Hakkai opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when Aika pulled the covers down, exposing his lower extremities. Hakkai's instinct was to snatch the covers back into place, but he resisted, images of the tearful girl fleeing the room still fresh.

"Ah, Gojyo?" Hakkai's hands twitched with the effort not to grab the blanket.

"'Skay," Gojyo assured him, stroking Misaki's back as she licked and kissed his tanned chest. "Aika's just gonna give you a blow job."

"That is certainly not necessary," Hakkai said, hoping his voice sounded calm.

Aika, who was kneeling next to Hakkai's waist, glanced back over her shoulder at Gojyo. The large, warm hand left Hakkai's hip and petted Aika's thigh while crimson eyes met his.

"Kai, just..." Gojyo stopped with a hiss, turning his attention to Misaki, who had one of his nipples between small white teeth. "Easy, firecracker," Gojyo chuckled, "or I'll have to tie you up again."

Hakkai jumped at the loud smack as Gojyo slapped the woman on the ass. He waited for the tears, but Misaki just laughed and resumed kissing and stroking Gojyo's torso. The redhead turned back to Hakkai, rubbing the buttock he had just slapped.

"Just trust me," Gojyo said. The handsome face lit up with a dazzling grin. "Hell, for your first time, I'm tempted to go down on you myself."

Hakkai's eyes widened, and in the moment between one thundering heartbeat and the next, he realized the redhead was teasing him.

"Ah, ha ha," Hakkai laughed weakly. The warm hand returned to squeeze his hip.

"Seriously," Gojyo's eyes were relaxed and warm, "just enjoy it."

Hakkai felt the blanket pull up over him and settle at his waist. He looked over at Aika, who sat with her hands folded in her lap, head bowed. She would have looked demure except for her nudity.

"If Hakkai-san does not desire my attentions," she said so softly Hakkai doubted human ears would have understood her, "perhaps Misaki will be of better service."

Guilt wrenched Hakkai's gut. When Aika turned away, he rose up on an elbow to grasp her wrist.

"Aika-chan," Hakkai said.

The girl sat with her face turned away from him. Hakkai sighed. He seemed unable to break the pattern of failing females. He looked down at his fingers, encircling Aika's tiny bird-bone wrist like a bracelet. If only she knew what cruel, vile things that hand had done; sometimes Hakkai was still mildly surprised when he glanced at his hands and they weren't stained red. He took a deep breath.

"Aika-chan," he tried again. "It is not that you are undesirable. It is simply that I do not wish to..." _fail, ruin, taint,_ "...hurt you."

Aika's face turned part-way toward him, brown eyes meeting his through dark eyelashes.

"Truly," Hakkai smiled at her. "You are quite lovely."

Her smile was like the sun bursting free of the clouds. She leaned closer, laying her free hand on his stomach, well away from the scar.

"It was silly of me to startle so easily before," Aika said. "I am not frightened of Hakkai-san."

'You should be,' Hakkai thought, but kept his smile firmly in place.

Aika raised his hand to her face and rubbed her cheek against his knuckles.

"Hakkai-san listened so attentively to my poor singing," Aika said, "and poured the sake so gracefully."

Hakkai forced his palm open and cupped her cheek. Although he was quite pale in complexion, her skin was the color of fresh snow. So soft. Hakkai was not beyond the irony of such pure, flawless skin on a woman who sold her body. As his polite speech and veneer of civility camouflaged an incestuous murderer. He trailed his fingertips over her check and neck, sliding over a round shoulder. Hakkai almost expected to see the white skin darken beneath his sinful touch. A haiku drifted through his mind, and he spoke the words aloud almost before realizing it.

"Hana sasou," Hakkai said quietly, "Arashi no niwa no. Yuki nara de furi yuku mono wa, waga mi nari keri."

The fingertips moved down the inside of her arm, and here the white was marked with the faint blue lines of veins, like small streams frozen beneath the ice. Cupping her elbow, Hakkai rubbed his thumb over the place of convergence at the inside crease.

"Not the snow of flowers," Hakkai continued, "That the hurrying wild-wind drags round the garden court. Is it that here, withering, falls: That in truth is I, myself."

He felt her other hand slip under the covers and very gently grasp him. He was hard. Hakkai had been hard since hearing Aika's moans while she ground herself against Gojyo. Despite Gojyo's trepidation that had led the redhead to grope him when they were getting ready at the inn, impotence was not an issue for Hakkai. His issues were in other areas.

The small hand stroked him, not quite able to wrap all the way around the base, and began lightly pumping. It felt very good, that band of soft, firm warmth, moving his skin up and down, stroking him harder. Hakkai did not look down at her hand, nor up into her face.

Instead, he followed the frozen stream down her arm to her wrist, where it branched out into rivulets. He turned her palm over, the skin here a blush darker, and traced the clean lines of her hand. The skin was uncalloused, because that was not the nature of her labor. Hakkai set the hand down on the futon next to her knee and touched her thigh. Here, the river was hidden from him, buried deep in the snow. His hand slid up the gentle slope of her thigh, past the crease, dipped into the valley of her waist, and over the rounded lines of ribs like snow-covered branches. Above the branches, the small mounds crested with pink like cherry blossoms peeking through the early Spring snow.

"On that far mountain, on the slope below the peak," Hakkai said, "Cherries are in flower."

Long black strands of hair, fallen free from the loose bun on her head, draped over her shoulder and breast. Hakkai carefully brushed the strands back.

"Oh, let the mountain mists not arise to hide the scene," he finished softly.

Cupping the right breast, he grazed the nipple with his thumb. It peaked, and Aika leaned into the touch with a soft sigh as he rubbed the little bud. Then he released her and flattened his hand above her breast, smoothing up to her neck. He could feel her heartbeat below his palm, quick and light; a sparrow heart for tiny bones and fluttering brown eyes. He slipped his hand behind her neck. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, smile firmly in place, Hakkai pulled Aika's head down to his groin. She bent easily over him, a snow-laded cherry blossom tree with a little brown sparrow hidden inside.

He felt her warm breath on the head of his penis, and her mouth parted slightly, lipstick smeared from Gojyo's kisses. The brown eyes flicked up at him, and Hakkai moved his thumb to touch the corner of her eyelid, closing them. She stuck out her tongue, pointed and pink, and licked him. The warm, soft wet touch was exquisite. Hakkai lay back down flat as that exquisite touch moved all over his cock, bathing him with pleasure. Her mouth stretched over his head and she took him inside, tongue still caressing, pressing, stroking. Hakkai bit his lip to hold back a moan. He wanted to grip the back of her neck harder, hold her in place while he thrust up into the moist heat. Instead, he deliberately moved his hand away from her neck, sliding it down the curve of her back to cup her bottom.

Not quite able to close his eyes, Hakkai turned his head. And discovered why Gojyo had been so quiet. The redhead's mouth had been occupied. Gojyo was still laying on his back with Misaki straddling him, but the black-haired woman had turned around, in what Hakkai believed to be the sixty-nine position. Misaki's head bobbed up and down on Gojyo's cock, hand pumping the base while he had her bottom spread wide in his large hands, licking and sucking her clitoris.

The heat rose in Hakkai's face, and despite himself, his hips twitched. Aika sucked him harder, one of her hands fondling his balls.

Gojyo pulled his head back and kissed Misaki's right buttock.

"Hey, baby," he whispered, and she lifted her mouth off his cock, pumping him with her hand.

"Gojyo-san?" she rubbed her face against the inside of his thigh.

"Are you too sore to take my cock?" Gojyo asked.

Misaki twisted to look back over her shoulder. "At which entrance will Gojyo-san be knocking?" she asked with a smile.

Gojyo laughed and sat up, gathering her into his lap with her back pressed against his chest. He squeezed her breasts in his long-fingered hands, rolling her nipples. She arched back, head falling onto his shoulder.

"The one I haven't entered," he said, nuzzling her neck.

In response, Hakkai watched Misaki start to position herself to take Gojyo inside, but the redhead stopped her. He turned her around so she was facing him, and Misaki wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

"Hold on tight, baby," he grinned, and levered himself to his feet.

She giggled, and he stepped backwards over the pillows and past the fu dog to the wall. Gojyo gave Hakkai a wink before he turned around and pressed Misaki's back to the wall. Trying not to be obvious, Hakkai angled his head up. Misaki braced herself with her hands on Gojyo's broad shoulders, her ankles locked around his waist. The redhead spread his legs, bending his knees slightly while he reached between them. Then his buttocks squeezed and his hips flexed as he thrust into her, hard enough to push her up on the wall. Gojyo grunted.

"Ah!" Misaki cried out, toes flexing.

Hakkai turned around, eyes closing briefly as his heart pounded in his throat.

Another grunt, another cry.

Before he could think himself out it, Hakkai sat up, gently pulling Aika away from his cock. He smiled, and she smiled back, glistening lips slightly swollen. He positioned her so she was facing the wall on her hands and knees. She obligingly lifted her bottom and spread her knees for him. Hakkai reached between her legs and touched her vulva, which was wet. Good. Probably more from Gojyo's earlier attentions than from Hakkai himself, but that really was not relevant at the moment.

Grunt, cry.

Hakkai rubbed his saliva-slickened member along her slit, then nestled the head against her vagina. Gojyo's buttocks squeezed, flexed, and Misaki's fingernails left a red trail across a shoulder blade.

Hakkai made several shallow thrusts, and Aika pushed back to meet him, so he gripped her hips and pushed all the way inside. A soft groan. So warm and soft and snug around his penis. Unconsciously, Hakkai's thrusts started lining up with Gojyo's, and Misaki's sharp cries were matched with Aika's softer ones. Hakkai tried to make as little sound as possible, listening for Gojyo's low grunts. The redhead's lean torso was beginning to glisten with sweat.

From the tilt of her head, Hakkai realized Aika was watching them as well, and for some reason, that bothered him. He pushed between her shoulder blades. She dropped the front half of her body down, pressing her cheek onto the futon, which also locked her hips up and gave him more leverage. Hakkai started thrusting into her more deeply, with more force, but still nowhere near as hard as Gojyo was fucking Misaki into the wall.

He began to feel the heaviness in his balls as they slapped up against Aika, and Hakkai realized he was close. He glanced around, and leaned over slightly to grab one of the towels on the mat by the washing bucket. He draped it over Aika's buttocks.

"No!" Misaki cried out.

Hakkai's head whipped up, and he realized Gojyo had stopped thrusting. Very slowly, the redhead was grinding his hips against Misaki in a small circle.

"Please, Gojyo-san."

Hakkai recognized the tone in the woman's voice from before when the other couple had been hidden behind the screen. It was the tone she had used when she started begging for Gojyo's cock. Without realizing it, Hakkai had stopped moving as well, watching the dimples on Gojyo's ass as he rotated his hips, Misaki's hands and feet twitching.

"What's the matter?" Gojyo teased. "Doesn't it feel good?"

"Yes, but..." Misaki gasped as Gojyo bent his head to suck on a nipple.

"But...?" Gojyo switched to the other one.

"Ah! Please, finish," Misaki pleaded, wriggling between Gojyo and the wall.

"All you gotta do is say it, baby," Gojyo's tone was one of gentle encouragement.

Hakkai didn't know how the redhead could sound so calm with a woman writhing on his cock while he played with her nipples.

Then Misaki said the words Hakkai knew he'd never hear spoken to him.

"Please, fuck me," Misaki begged.

Gojyo immediately rewarded her by pulling back and slamming his hips forward. If Hakkai thought Gojyo had been fucking her hard before, now each thrust shoved her up the wall, and her open-mouthed cries blended into one long wail. Hakkai automatically resumed pumping into Aika, and quickly felt himself approaching the point of no return.

Just as the tightening of his balls and the tingling at the base of his cock became intense, Hakkai pulled out of Aika. He reached between her legs and slipped his middle finger inside her wet hole, rubbing her clitoris with his palm as he pumped his cock in his right hand. She pushed herself back against him, moaning.

"Nnnh!" Gojyo's hips thrust forward one last time.

Hakkai came hard. He spurted into the towel, hand still pumping as Gojyo's ass unclenched, his body relaxing. Hakkai stroked his finger inside Aika and rubbed her harder, squeezing her ass with his other hand. Remembering what Gojyo had said earlier, he leaned forward.

"Cum for me," Hakkai whispered.

With a little moan, Aika ground herself harder on his hand. Yes, she definitely responded to that. What else had Gojyo said? Ah, yes.

"Be a good girl," Hakkai added.

And she was.

*************

The street was nearly empty when Hakkai and Gojyo left the Pink Lotus. Looking up at the half-moon hanging low in the sky, Hakkai estimated it was only a few hours on the dark side of dawn. Some of the women were outside with poles, taking down the lanterns, and as they passed, Gojyo gave them friendly grins and winks regardless of age or beauty. Hakkai smiled politely. Gojyo pulled out his cigarettes and lipped one out of the pack as they walked.

"Hey, Kai," he said around the cigarette, fishing in his pockets for the lighter. "You gotta teach me a couple of those sex poems."

"They were not sex poems, Gojyo," Hakkai said. "They were haiku."

He watched the lighter flare to life in Gojyo's hand, throwing the redhead's face into sharp relief and setting the crimson eyes to flame. The lighter snapped shut, and Gojyo took a deep drag, shoving it back in his pocket. The redhead grinned at him.

"Whatever. Aika totally got into it," Gojyo slung an arm around his shoulder as they walked.

"Gojyo?" Hakkai could smell the sex on both of them. It would be a good idea to bathe back at the inn before Goku saw them. "Why did you give Aika-chan and Misaki-chan your 'drunk' money? Didn't you already pay the establishment?"

Hakkai referred to the roll of yen Gojyo kept stashed in his boot. It was a holdover from the old days, when he would go drinking with Banri and wake up with all his cash gone. Hakkai had discovered it by accident one day retrieving dirty socks for laundry.

"Hm? Oh." Gojyo blew out a long stream of smoke and watched it dissipate against the dark sky. "Most of the money you give the matron goes to the house. They give part of it to the girls, but take out for rent, clothes, medical expenses, that kind of shit. So I always give the girls something extra on the side, to keep for themselves."

As they approached the wall, Hakkai noticed there was a different set of bored-looking guards. He nodded politely, and Gojyo flashed a palm.

"Night, pal," Gojyo said as they passed through the gate.

The main street was completely quiet, all the lanterns taken down, the shop norens rolled up and put away. As they passed a closed noodle shop, a light breeze stirred a furin, making the glass wind bell chime softly.

"Maybe I should've told you," Gojyo said softly, "the pleasure houses, they give the girls this tea made outta some kind of seeds, that you know, keeps them from getting pregnant."

"Daucus carota," Hakkai murmured. "Wild Carrot seeds."

Along with the sexual education texts, he had of course researched contraceptives. For him and Kanaan to have a child would have been disastrous. He could remember going to the fields around the college and collecting the hairy-stemmed flowers, carefully harvesting and drying the seeds. If Kanaan knew what he was doing when he prepared the tea for her every time after they were intimate, she never said anything, just took the cup from his hands and drank it. He put honey in it for her, because she liked tea a little sweet.

"...you pull out, then?" Gojyo asked.

Hakkai focused on the redhead, and although he had only heard part of what the other man had said, he could guess at the question.

"Habit. It is not one hundred percent effective," Hakkai answered.

"Habit?" Gojyo frowned at down at him, then the redhead averted his eyes as he remembered.

Of course, his friend knew the only woman Hakkai had sexual intercourse with before this evening was his sister. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the inn. Cigarette burned all the way down, Gojyo let the stub drop to the gravel path and and ground it out beneath his boot. The redhead pulled open the noren at the entrance to the inn and stood aside to let Hakkai pass. Hakkai stepped through, the taller man ducking to follow him into the empty entranceway.

Pausing, Hakkai turned and rested his hand on Gojyo's chest. The redhead stopped and smiled down at him in question.

"Gojyo," Hakkai said quietly, "thank you."

The smile blossomed into a brilliant grin, and Gojyo hugged him. The other man rubbed his cheek, slightly rough with morning stubble, against his and pulled back.

"My pleasure. Seriously." The grin became suggestive and Hakkai rolled his eyes.

Gojyo laughed loudly as they turned to the stairs, hushing at a look and a hand gesture from Hakkai to keep it down. The redhead glanced around the dark inn and gave Hakkai an "I'm sorry" half-shrug.

"Hey, Kai," Gojyo whispered from behind him as they walked up the stairs. "Did I tell you your ass looks hot in those leather pants?"

"Gojyo!" Hakkai whispered fiercely, feeling the heat rise up into his face as he threw the redhead a scolding look over his shoulder.

Gojyo responded with an unrepentant grin.

**********

The ikkou was camping out again. It had been weeks since they had been in a town large enough to have an inn. Hakkai crawled out of the tent and stretched, fists balling at the small of his back. A low-laying mist clung to the ground, and the sky was just beginning to lighten as birds chirped from the surrounding trees. Feeling a touch on the back of his calf, Hakkai twisted and looked down. Gojyo was blinking sleepily up at him upside down through the open tent flap.

"Everything okay?" the redhead asked with a yawn.

"Yes, Gojyo," Hakkai smiled. "I am simply going to fetch water for breakfast."

"Kay," Gojyo squeezed his leg and the arm withdrew back into the tent.

Hakkai retrieved the water canister from the stack of supplies by the tent and briskly set off for the small stream Goku had found when they were scouting for a camping spot last night. The ground was damp and soft, the woods so quiet, he could hear the dew dripping from the trees. A twinge in his bladder made Hakkai stop, and he set down the container to relieve himself. After he shook the last drops off, his penis was still hard. He had awoken with an erection. It was difficult sometimes, the four of them in the little tent, limbs tangled together, warm bodies touching each other, the soft sighs of dreaming...

Hakkai started stroking himself, closing his eyes, and she came to him right away. Her long, soft brown hair, braid coming apart in his fingers into gentle waves, the green eyes so like his own except there was no dark bitterness there, only light and love. She was like a mirror that reflected all the goodness and kindness Hakkai had lost. Her white hands touched him, and when they pulled away, they were red. Guilt and sorrow wrenched at him, and Hakkai felt the sobs heave up as his hand kept pumping.

Something light brushed his face, and Hakkai opened his eyes as a cherry blossom drifted down between his feet. Tilting his head up, Hakkai realized he was standing underneath a cherry blossom tree.

"On that far mountain, on the slope below the peak," Hakkai whispered, "Cherries are in flower."

He imagined the touch on his penis changed to two small hands gripping him.

_She stuck out her tongue, pointed and pink, and licked him. The warm, soft wet touch was exquisite. _

Hakkai's eyes slid closed, face tilted up toward the sky.

_She bent easily over him, a snow-laded cherry blossom tree with a little brown sparrow hidden inside._

His hand pumped faster.

_That exquisite touch moved all over his cock, bathing him with pleasure. Her mouth stretched over his head and she took him inside, tongue still caressing, pressing, stroking._

Hakkai felt the tingling pool at the base of his cock, the tension in his thighs as he approached his release. He reached behind him to brace himself with his left hand on the rough bark of the cherry tree.

"Ah!"

He came, continuing to stroke himself as he spurted out on the damp ground. Taking a step back, he leaned against the tree for a moment, inhaling deeply, pulling the fresh earthy scent of the woods into his lungs. Then he tucked himself back in and buttoned up his trousers. It was when he was stooping down to retrieve the water container that he heard the rustling in the bushes behind him.

Senses alert, Hakkai straightened and turned toward the sound. He held himself at the ready for a moment, but nothing came charging at him, and the birds sang peacefully around him. A small animal, perhaps.

Shrugging, Hakkai continued on to the stream. He felt wonderfully relaxed, and the woods were truly beautiful. Perhaps on the way back he would gather some cherry blossoms to mix with the morning green tea.

******

GLOSSARY:

"Not the Snow of Flowers"

Hana sasou

Arashi no niwa no

Yuki nara de

Furi yuku mono wa

Waga mi nari keri

Not the snow of flowers,

That the hurrying wild-wind drags

Round the garden court,

Is it that here, withering, falls:

That in truth is I, myself.

- Poem by Hosshoji Fujiwara-no-Tadamichi (1097-1164 C.E.)

Takasago no

Onoe no sakura

Saki ni keri

Toyama no kasumi

Tatazu mo aranan

On that far mountain

On the slope below the peak  
Cherries are in flower.

Oh, let the mountain mists

Not arise to hide the scene.

- Poem by Oe No Masafusa (1041-1111)

Wild Carrot Seeds - Also referred to as Queen Anne's Lace. Women have used the seeds for centuries as a contraceptive; the earliest written reference dates back to the late 5th or 4th century B.C. appearing in a work written by Hippocrates. The seeds can be swallowed raw with a glass of water, or brewed into a tea.


End file.
